1. Technical Field
This invention is directed to roadway guiderails that are provided along the shoulders of the highway and as barriers between divided highways and around obstacles such as bridge abutments and the like. Such guiderails are supported by a plurality of longitudinally spaced vertically oriented posts driven or buried into the ground. Such guiderails prevent vehicles from leaving the roadway or crossing over into oncoming traffic.
2. Description of Prior Art
Prior art guiderail barriers are comprises of elongated horizontally extending rails that are mounted on vertically upstanding support posts. Such posts are typically made of wood or steel with offset mounting blocks of wood or synthetic resin material which space the rail in relation to the post at their upper end to which the guiderail is secured. The spacer blocks meet the requirement that the guiderail must be spaced from the support post so that under impact of a vehicle the rail is engaged first, absorbing and deflecting the impact forces imparted thereon. Such spacer blocks have a number of inherent disadvantages including the requirement of a separate mounting step and hardware to secure the block to the post before the guiderail can be secured thereto. Examples of guiderail support posts configurations attempting to eliminate the spacer blocks can be seen in U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,219,241, 5,507,473, and 5,657,966.
In U.S. Pat. No. 5,219,241 a crash barrier post is disclosed having a molded synthetic resin configuration combining a vertical post with an integral spacer block portion. The post is preferably of a solid construction with a rail conforming attached surface extending therefrom.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,507,473 is directed to a one-piece L-shaped guiderail post formed of plastic recyclable material which is reinforced with interior vertical and horizontal metal members.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,657,966 discloses a metallic guiderail barrier having an upstanding post with an apertured spacing bracket extending therefrom onto which a guiderail is secured.
Finally, a synthetic spacer block and metallic support posts are illustrated in U.S. Pat. No. 6,007,269 in which a metal post of a cross-sectionally I-beam configuration has a monolithic spacer block attached thereto. The spacer block is made of a composite recyclable synthetic resin material and is formed to be in registration with the surface of the I-beam support posts.
A guiderail support post having a one-piece configuration to be driven into the ground with a vertically offset portion onto which a guiderail can be attached. The post is preferably made of a metal stamping having a cross-sectionally U-shaped configuration with elongated spaced parallel reinforcing flanges. The integral offset portion of the post is apertured to receive mounting fasteners onto which a guiderail is directly attached thereto.